80 Technologies found

UCLA researchers have designed, synthesized, and validated a polyrotaxane nanocarrier for targeted delivery of large plasmids for gene therapy applications for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cancer.

Through integrative analyses of the regeneration-associated gene expression profiling after peripheral nervous system (PNS) injury, combined with multi-level bioinformatics and experimental validation of network predictions, UCLA researchers in the Department of Neurology have identified a small molecule drug that significantly accelerates and improves dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurite outgrowth in vitro and optic nerve outgrowth in vivo.

UCLA researchers in the Departments of Pediatrics and Chemistry & Biochemistry have developed a microfluidic device for delivery of biomolecules into living cells using mechanical deformation, without the fouling issues in current systems.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a predominantly genetic-based heart disease characterized by right but also recently left ventricular dysfunction, fibrofatty replacement of the myocardium leading to fatal/severe ventricular arrhythmias leading to sudden cardiac death in young people and athletes. ARVC is responsible for 10% of sudden cardiac deaths in people ≥65 years of age and 24% in people ≤30 years of age. ARVC is thought to be a rare disease as it occurs in 1 in 1000-5000 people, although the prevalence may be higher as some patients are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed due to poor diagnostic markers. Growing evidence also reveals earlier onset since pediatric populations ranging from infants to children in their teens are also particularly vulnerable to ARVC, highlighting the critical need to identify and treat patients at an earlier stage of the disease.At present there are no effective treatments for ARVC nor has there been any randomized clinical trials conducted to examine treatment modalities, screening regimens, or medications specific for ARVC. As a result, treatment strategies for ARVC patients are directed at symptomatic relief of electrophysiological defects, based on clinical expertise, results of retrospective registry-based studies, and the results of studies on model systems. The current standard of care is the use of anti-arrhythmic drugs (sotalol, amniodarone and beta-blockers) that transition into more invasive actions, which include implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac catheter ablation, if the patient becomes unresponsive or intolerant to anti-arrhythmic therapies. However, current therapeutic modalities have limited effectiveness in managing the disease, 40% of ARVC patients (a young heart disease) die within 10-11 years after initial diagnosis, highlighting the need for development of more effective therapies for patients with ARVC.

The invention is an on-chip, droplet based single-cell transfection platform providing higher efficiency and consistency compared to conventional methods. Novel techniques following cell encapsulation yields uniform lipoplex formation, which increases the transfection accuracy. The invention solves the dilemma of the trade-off between efficiency and cell viability, and offers a safe, cell friendly and high transfection solution that is crucial for applications like gene therapy, cancer treatment and regenerative medicine.

96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} The CRISPR-Cas system is now understood to confer bacteria and archaea with acquired immunity against phage and viruses. CRISPR-Cas systems consist of Cas proteins, which are involved in acquisition, targeting and cleavage of foreign DNA or RNA, and a CRISPR array, which includes direct repeats flanking short spacer sequences that guide Cas proteins to their targets. Class 2 CRISPR-Cas systems are streamlined versions in which a single Cas protein bound to RNA is responsible for binding to and cleavage of a targeted sequence. The programmable nature of these minimal systems has facilitated their use as a versatile technology that is revolutionizing the field of genome manipulation, so there is a need in the art for additional Class 2 CRISPR/Cas systems (e.g., Cas protein plus guide RNA combinations). Researchers have shown that a Cas12c protein (also referred to as a Cas12c polypeptide or a C2c3 polypeptide) complex as well as Cas12c variants can be used for specific binding and cleavage of DNA. The Cas12c complex utilizes a novel RNA and a guide RNA to perform double stranded cleavage of DNA. Similar to CRISPR Cas9, Cas12c enzymes are expected to have a wide variety of applications in genome editing and nucleic acid manipulation.

Gene therapy applications necessitate cell transfection techniques for delivering biomaterial into multiple or a single cell(s). The global market for transfection technologies can be worth more than half a billion by 2017. Current viral and chemical transfection techniques have limited ease of fabrication, transfection efficiency, dosage control, and cell viability. The invention discloses a simple yet efficient technique for nanoinjection of material into a single cell with high transfection efficiency, controlled dosage delivery, and full cell viability.

96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} The CRISPR-Cas system is now understood to confer bacteria and archaea with acquired immunity against phage and viruses. CRISPR-Cas systems consist of Cas proteins, which are involved in acquisition, targeting and cleavage of foreign DNA or RNA, and a CRISPR array, which includes direct repeats flanking short spacer sequences that guide Cas proteins to their targets. The programmable nature of these systems has facilitated their use as a versatile technology that is revolutionizing the field of genome manipulation. There is a need in the art for additional CRISPR-Cas systems with improved cleavage and manipulation under a variety of conditions and ones that are particularly thermostable under those conditions. UC researchers discovered a new type of RNA-guided endonuclease (GeoCas9) and variants of GeoCas9. GeoCas9 was found to be stable and enzymatically active in a temperature range of from 15°C to 75°C and has extended lifetime in human plasma. With evidence that GeoCas9 maintains cleavage activity at mesophilic temperatures, the ability of GeoCas9 to edit mammalian genomes was then assessed. The researchers found that when comparing the editing efficiency for both GeoCas9 and SpyCas9, similar editing efficiencies by both proteins were observed, demonstrating that GeoCas9 is an effective alternative to SpyCas9 for genome editing in mammalian cells. Similar to CRISPR-Cas9, GeoCas9 enzymes are expected to have a wide variety of applications in genome editing and nucleic acid manipulation.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have discovered a class of compounds that both bind to a unique newly-discovered binding site in respiratory complex III and act as inhibitors of electron transport for use as mitochondrial anti-cancer drugs.

This invention identifies a novel class of natural protein-based inhibitors of CRISPR-Cas9, which could eliminate off-target effects of Cas9-mediated gene editing. It also presents an attractive antibiotic strategy and a potential biodefense agent against CRISPR bioterror threat.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering have developed a novel immunotherapeutic strategy that uses a selectively-activated cytotoxic molecule to enable tumor-specific T cell-mediated killing.

Cellular therapies are becoming well established within the medical community. However, the degree of cellular activation can be an unknown factor, and the risk of off-target effects remains. Cells may be delivered, but may not be therapeutically effective, or effective cells may elicit activity in an undesired location. The delivery of a cell therapy where a known quantity of cell activation occurs at a specific, selected site may therefore be advantageous. UC San Diego researchers have recently developed the methods and materials for remote control of cellular activation, to dynamically manipulate molecular events for immunotherapeutic effect.

The obesity epidemic is an ongoing issue leading to significant economic and social burden, in part due to its role in the development of diabetes. Only three DFA-approved drugs for obesity treatment currently exist, none of which are without significant side effects and risks. Researchers at UCI have developed a DNA-based approach that activates metabolism, to target genes only in the fat and liver, causing increased energy expenditure and weight loss without affecting other organs. These present a viable approach to obesity treatment with minimal side effects in comparison to current drug treatments.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics have developed a method to permanently correct the out-of-frame dystrophin gene in patient cell models of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)

Neuropathic pain is a common problem, though, there are few existing pain medications have specific targets to treat this type of pain, and often lack efficacy and tolerance. The invention identifies specific proteins and related genes as targets for treating neuropathic pain in an animal model.

The invention consists of a multi-channel, droplet-generating microfluidic device with a strategically placed feature. The feature vibrates in order to counteract particle-trapping micro-vortices formed in the device. Counteracting these vortices allows for single particle encapsulation in the droplets formed by the device and makes this technology a good candidate for use in single cell diagnostics and drug delivery systems.

The Mikkola group at UCLA has discovered a novel regulator of hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal. The overexpression of this regulator increases the yield of ex vivo stem cell expansion and could thereby improve the efficiency of stem cell therapies.

The remote control of cellular activation in a controllable and reproducible fashion is a key tool for biological research, as well as for therapeutic uses. Cellular therapies are becoming well established within the medical community. However, the degree of cellular activation can be an unknown factor, and the risk of off-target effects remains. Cells may be delivered, but may not be therapeutically effective, or effective cells may elicit activity in an undesired location. The delivery of a cell therapy where a known quantity of cell activation occurs at a specific, selected site may therefore be advantageous. UC San Diego researchers have recently developed the methods and materials for remote control of cellular activation, to dynamically manipulate molecular events for therapeutic effect.

The detection of levels of messenger RNA (mRNA), the molecule used by DNA to convey information about protein production, is a very important method in molecular biology. Current detection strategies, such as Northern Blotting and RT-PCR, require destruction of the cell to extract such information. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a method to non-destructively assess mRNA levels in a single living cell.